Kurokokoro
by VitameatavegaminGirl
Summary: Oz and Ciel Phantomhive are brothers. On the day of Oz's coming-of-age ceremony, Oz is sent to the Abyss and Ciel's perfect life is shattered beyond repair. Ten years have passed since then and Ciel is still very determined to keep the promise he made on that horrifically fateful night. (No pairings)
1. Chapter 1

**Hello there and thank you for choosing to read this story! I'm pretty sure I won't be updating this as often as** ** _Silver and Gold_** **but I will if ya leave me a review. More reviews = more chapters, so have at thee (yes, this is blackmail XP)!**

 **All right, on to the technical stuff, this story is a crossover between Black Butler (Kuroshitsugi) and Pandora Hearts. I will leave the rest to my storytelling abilities.**

 **Btw, there are parts in this that are directly taken from the mangas. Oh, and I don't own either Pandora Hearts or Black Butler (wish I did, but I don't ). This applies to all of the chapters 'cause I ain't writin' it every time.**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

 **Here's Chapter 1: Losing Everything**

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"Come on, Ciel! You can do it! Come on…just a few more steps…" A blonde boy reached his hands out to the young child in front of him. The toddler was barely able to stay standing, but he was determined to reach the blonde. He took two tiny steps and collapsed into the outstretched arms. "Yay! You made it Ciel! Good boy!" The blonde scooped Ciel up and spun around gleefully.

Ciel giggled with happiness, "I love you, Nii-tan!"

"I love you too, Ciel," the blonde hugged the child tightly before raising him up again and saying, with a gleam in his eye, "Are you ready to try out our secret signal?"

"Yeah!" The blonde set a suddenly very excited Ciel down on the ground and knelt so he could look in his eyes.

"All right, let's do this!"

Together, they began chanting an odd little poem:

 _Oz and Ciel_

 _Brothers together, friends forever_

 _Oz and Ciel_

 _Never parting the other and never hurting the other_

 _Oz and Ciel_

The two boys cheered and hugged each other again. When Oz's attendant, Gilbert (usually called 'Gil' for short), came to call them in, he found them positively covered in dirt since their happy hug had turned into a wrestling match.

"Young masters!" Gil screeched in a panic, "Why are you all dirty?!

Oz laughed loudly and said, "Calm down, Gil! We were just horsing around a bit. No need to freak out!"

"Freak out! Freak out!" Ciel parroted his older brother and clapped his hands, "Gil, freak out!" Gil sighed and hung his head. _I have the most troublesome master,_ he thought despondently.

"Children!" A delicate voice called to the dirt laden kids, "What have you been up to all day? And you Oz," the owner of the voice (a beautiful woman with blonde hair and deep blue eyes) glided over to the three boys and stopped in front her elder son, "Miss Kate has been looking for you all over the place! You should be getting ready for your coming-of-age ceremony." The woman, or Rachel if you prefer, folded her arms across her chest, as if she was upset with Oz. She wasn't fooling anyone, though. It was very obvious that she wasn't mad in the slightest; in fact Gil could have sworn that she was actually smiling a little at her son's antics.

"Sorry, Mother!" Oz blinked up at her, a similar look of amusement playing across his own face, "I forgot." Rachel laughed out loud at the ridiculous excuse. The lie also attracted the attention of another man who was just coming up to check on them.

"Oh, come now, Oz!" The green-haired man (he looked like an adult version of Ciel) chided the blonde boy lightly, "I thought I taught you better than that!" Gil brightened a little at the man's words, _Oh good! Even_ _Master Vincent thinks that Young Maste-_

"If you are going to lie, at least make it slightly believable," Gil collapsed in astonishment, "Personally, I would say that I was merely playing with Ciel and lost track of time. At least then there is the possibility of being believed. Remember that, Oz. It will do you good later on!" Vincent grinned and gave his son a cheerful thumbs up, as if he hadn't just been teaching him how to _lie_. Rachel laughed and nodded her head in agreement.

Ciel (who was very happy that his three favorite people were all with him) cooed with delight and said, in his childish voice, "Mama, Papa, Nii-tan, when do we get to go to the party?" Gil had tried his best to get the young child excited for the ceremony (Oz couldn't have cared less) and apparently his valiant efforts weren't in vain.

Oz grimaced. He loved his little brother more than anyone else in the whole world and he knew that it would break Ciel's heart to know that, although he could be present, he wouldn't be allowed to do speak and he certainly wouldn't be allowed to play or have any kind of fun at all, plus he wouldn't be allowed in the room were the actual ceremony would commence. That was why Oz detested the idea of this dumb coming-of-age ceremony.

"Soon, Ciel," Victor smiled gently at his young son, "But you have to remember that when it's time for your Nii-tan to actually go through the ceremony you must stay out of the room. Understand?" Ciel tilted his head, blinked a few times, and nodded solemnly. The beautiful child had always been rather perceptive (and articulate) so he easily noted the slight sense of urgency in his father's tone and was very willing to comply with that one rule. He didn't really want to have to sit through something boring and heaven knows what other kinds of awful things his ever so loving 'Nii-tan' had filled his head with.

Ϙ-Ϙ-Ϙ

About thirty minutes later, Oz was finally wrangled into the dining hall where his guests were awaiting the ceremony. As he was talking up one of his more influential guests, his uncle (who had come by a few hours ago) introduced him to a beautiful girl named Sharon.

"It's very nice to meet you, Oz-sama," Sharon bowed politely, "I'm sorry that I won't be able to attend your ceremony but next year when I turn fifteen, would you be willing to dance with me?"

Oz instantly fell head over heels for the quiet-spoken daughter of a duke. He turned up his natural charm and practically sparkled as he said, "Yes, of course, by all means! It would be an honor to dance with someone as lovely as you!" Sharon giggled with a bit of confusion.

After the two young people had chatted happily for a few more minutes, Sharon noticed someone standing in the corner and politely excused herself, "I'm sorry, Oz-sama, but I should probably leave now," she gave a small curtsy, "It was nice meeting you, goodbye." With that the pretty girl walked quietly over to the person she had seen. Oz decided that the person was a male, somewhere in his late teens early twenties (far too old to be sweet Sharon's beau, but that was just his own opinion), and had white hair that covered half of his face. Oz was a little upset that the two seemed to be so familiar but he didn't let it bother him too much. He was almost entirely confident that he would be able to win his princess over, in the end at least.

Eventually, it was time for Oz's ceremony to begin. As all his guests filed into the entrance hall, Oz looked around to see if he could find Ciel before it was time to join them. Unfortunately, the little toddler had already been escorted from the room. When Oz found out he shrugged casually, _I'll see him later. Maybe we can get the cook to make us some cake!_ Little did he know that it would be many, many years before he ever saw the child again.

Ϙ-Ϙ-Ϙ

 _By this baptismal sword,_

 _The impurities hiding within thyself shall be cleaned._

Oz kneeled before his father and waited for him to tap both shoulders lightly with the sword he was holding and finish delivering his lines. Afterward, Oz was supposed to stand up, walk over to their family's broken grandfather clock (he could never figure out why it was so important) and, while touching it, say, 'I vow upon my life to protect those I hold dear." When he was finished saying that he would be free to do as he wished.

 _Until the day thy scarred body and pulse vanish, do you swear to continually protect the name and honor of Phantomhive?_

Oz rose regally (his father had drilled him hard when it came to this particular part; it was harder than it looked) and glided over to the broken clock. Before he began his vow he looked up at the clock's face. It was stopped a little before midnight (or afternoon, but Oz, a dedicated romantic, liked to think of it as stopped at midnight). The blonde smiled softly at it before reaching out and gently touching its dark mahogany wood frame with the tips of his fingers as he continued with his own lines, "I vow upon my life to pro-"

 _TICK_

 _DONG_

 _DONG_

The old wood framed grandfather clock, that hadn't worked in centuries, suddenly began to move again. When it did, a group of strange black clothed men (and probably women too, but Oz couldn't really tell) appeared behind him and one of them began chanting his own mantra.

 _Oz Phantomhive._

 _I, who bear the Chain of Conviction, shall now pass Judgement upon you._

 _Your sin is…_

The man placed a hand on Oz's head, nails digging into his scalp.

 _YOUR VERY EXISTENCE!_

When he said that Oz shuddered as his sight began to go black. The last thing he saw before utter darkness was his father falling, a sword sticking through his chest, and flames beginning to lap up the sides of his beautiful home.

Ϙ-Ϙ-Ϙ

An hour after Oz had been sent to the Abyss, his little brother, Ciel, had been given the pleasure of watching his mother die in front of him as the house he had grown up in light up the night with the flames lapping up its walls. He wasn't allowed to watch for very long though. The arsonist, who happened to be a girl, caught hold of Ciel's beautiful blue hair and yanked him along. Ciel kicked and screamed, but he was just a child. Nothing he did helped.

The girl threw her cargo into the back of a crude cart and jumped up next to him. All of the other cloaked intruders also leapt up as one of them flicked the reigns, leading them away from the burning mansion. In the bright fire light Ciel happened to get a glimpse of the man who seemed to be in charge. He had jet black hair and cold violet eyes. Ciel remembered seeing a picture of him once. His name was Oswald. Oswald Baskerville. He was head of the Baskerville family and should have been the Phantomhive family's strongest ally.

Oswald noticed the toddler staring at him horror. He smirked evilly, "What's wrong child? Could it be that you remember me?" Ciel nodded slowly. Oswald chuckled before purring, "Is that so? Well then, what are you planning to do now? Are you going to kill me for destroying your family? Are you going to swear to take revenge on me? Or are you going to avenge your family by destroying the Baskerville family?" He grabbed Ciel's chin and forced the little boy to look him in the eyes, "Tell me, child! What are you going to do?"

The toddler's bright blue eyes met the man's violet gaze blankly, all trace of childishness glee gone from his face and voice as he said calmly, "I will survive. I will survive and when I grow up I will make you regret what you did to me. I will destroy not only you, but your family and your home and your reputation. I will take everything from you."

Oswald started at the speech. It sounded a little silly considering that Ciel was barely able to pronounce the 'r' sound, but even so the toddler's words sent a shiver up the man's spine. Ciel meant what he said; there was no denying that. However Oswald would have to be stupid take such a young child seriously. _Why then_ , he thought in frustration, _Why am I so afraid of him right now? It is quite ridiculous to be afraid of a child, so why do I feel so scared._ He never could figure that one out. Even after he sold the offending child off to some slave trader, he still couldn't shake the feeling that Ciel would be the one to bring about his demise. He didn't like that feeling. Yet there was nothing he could do, besides wait for his rival's youngest son to come and fulfill his promise.

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 **Whelp, if you liked this chapter, please leave a review and head over to chapter 2. If you didn't like it, leave a review telling me what I should fix and enjoy the rest of your day.**

 **Either way, I hope you have (had) a happy Christmas (or Hanukkah or any other holiday you might celebrate instead)!**

 **Have a Happy New Year! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's Chapter 2: I'm Back**

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Ϙ-Ten Years Later-Ϙ

"Who would've thought that one of the most powerful people in England is just a boy? Isn't that right, Ciel Phantomhive?" A nasty gangster type man toyed with his illegal Cuban cigar as he sneered cruelly at the boy in front of him. The boy, Ciel, had dark blue hair and was wearing an eyepatch, making him look a little bit like a small pirate. Ciel didn't say anything in response to the gangster's prodding. He had been tied up and beaten when found to be uncooperative. He was rather upset that he had gotten into such an uncomfortable situation. It reminded him of the night he lost everything.

"Now then, why don't we get down to business Young Master?" The gangster sat down on the fancy burl wood table that occupied a rather large part of the 'interrogation' room. "I have a proposition for you, Young Master. You allow me to sell my drugs and I tell your 'oh-so-special' butler where you are. If you don't agree, I'll kill you and dump your body off the cliff. Whadya sa-"

 _Ring_

 _Ring_

 _Rin-_

 _Cl-click_

The gangster picked up the Victorian age phone and growled into it, "WHAT?! I'm in the middle of negotiations!"

 _We failed sir! The butler is still alive!_

"You failed?! You useless #%*&$! This is why you're so worthless! Return at once!"

 _Wait! Some trouble just came up. AH-AAAHHH! HOW?! HOW!?_

"What's wrong," the gangster chuckled at his lackey's shouts, "Did a bear show up, or something?"

 _AHH! AAAAHHHH!_

"What's with you guys? Is it something you can't handle?"

 _Gimme more speed!_ The other lackey screamed at the speaker in reply, _THAT'S NOT POSSIBLE! IT'S NO USE! HERE IT COMES! IT'S HERE!_

"What's wrong with you guys?!" The gangster was beginning to get a little worried, even that insignificant lot wasn't scared so easily, "Knock it off, ma-"

 _KYAAAAAAAAAAA-_

 _KSHHH_

 _…_

 _…_

"H-hey. Hey! What happened?! Give me a repor-"

 _Hello?_ A smooth velvety voice began speaking instead of the two lackeys, _Hello, I am a member of the Phantomhive household…I hope Young Master hasn't been troubling you._

Ciel smiled to himself and said, "This is beginning to get annoying Sebastian. Come and relieve me of this aggravation."

 _Yes, my lord._

 _BZZT_

The line fizzled and died, crushed by Sebastian's strong grip. As the gangster began spitting out curses and orders to protect the hideout, Ciel took the time to take a breath and collect his thoughts. _Finally_ , he thought tiredly, _This is really getting old. Hmm…I wonder what Nii-tan would have done?_ The blue-haired boy startled himself by thinking such a melancholic line. He had always tried his best to _not_ remind himself that his family was gone, especially his brother. Ciel gave a sad sigh. He may have always acted tough when it came to missing his brother, but in light of recent events (getting kidnapped, beaten, teased, humiliated, etc.) his feeling were rising to the surface again. "Nii-tan…" Unconsciously, Ciel called for his brother. When he did he felt a tug at his heart to say it again, "Nii-tan…Nii-tan…Nii-tan, please come back. I miss you." At this point Ciel's sight became blurred by tears and eventually he was silently weeping.

Because of his emotional state, he didn't notice that the tears that fell to the ground had gathered into a pointy circle and in the middle a set of clock hands appeared and began to spin around. The tear-clock began to glow brightly and he heard a humming noise. Ciel frowned when he heard the noise and tried his best to sit up so he could get a good look at where it was coming from. Mr. Gangster, however, was too busy being terrified by Sebastian (who had shown up, beaten every single one of the employed bodyguards in a matter of minutes and was now frightening the 'poor man' half to death) to notice what was happening.

 _Ciel…_

Ciel jumped when he heard his name come floating up from the circle. The voice behind it sounded familiar, but he couldn't tell if it was someone he knew.

 _Ciel. Ciel! Ciel!_

The voice continued to say his name, getting louder and louder each time. Suddenly, there was a blinding flash followed by a puff of dark smoke, a thump and two loud shrieks. Sebastian forgot about torturing the gangster and instead dashed over to his master to see what had happened. What he saw stunned him.

Instead of Ciel being the only person in that corner of the room, he was accompanied by (or rather, was being sat on by) a teenage boy with light blonde hair and dazzling green eyes. Sebastian blinked in surprise and stuttered out carefully, "U-um…Young Master? Are you a-all right?" Ciel leaned his head back and stared at the butler, shock clearly written on his face.

"Sebastian…get me, and our…guest, out of here immediately," the blue-haired boy wriggled his bound arms up to his face and pulled off his eyepatch, revealing a clock symbol (similar to the one that the teen had, apparently, come out of) implanted in a purple orb rather than the beautiful blue of the other, "That is an order, Sebastian."

The butler smiled happily before bowing, "Yes, my lord." He quickly scooped up both boys (the blonde kept silent the whole time) and proceeded to level anyone who got in his way as he barreled out.

Ϙ-Ϙ-Ϙ

It took Sebastian forty minutes to run back to the Phantomhive house carrying his two charges. Ciel kept stealing glances at the quiet blonde. He knew it was impossible, but for some reason the teen reminded him of Oz. In fact Ciel was almost certain that they were absolutely identical.

When Sebastian finally put both boys down, Ciel immediately went into interrogation mode, "Who are you?" He crossed his arms in front of his chest and stared up at the eerily familiar blonde.

The blonde stared at him silently for a while before whispering, "My name is Oz. Oz Phantomhive," he paused and let that information sink in, "And you're my little brother, Ciel. I don't know why you are so much older," Oz tilted his head as he scanned Ciel up and down, "And bigger. But I know that you are Ciel. I heard you call my name. So I came." He smiled joyfully and reached out a hand in an attempt to touch his brother's head.

Ciel flinched away from the touch and snapped harshly, "Oz Phantomhive died ten years ago. You couldn't possibly be Nii-I-I mean my brother. Now answer my question honestly." Although he was glaring angrily at the blonde he didn't really mean it. Ciel wanted the other boy's words to be true, oh how he wished they were true. But until he had conclusive evidence, he would never accept it.

Oz's smile shrunk a little but didn't disappear. He took a slightly shaky breath and began speaking one more time, "It really is me, Ciel. I can prove it too. Do you remember the poem we came up with when you were little?" Ciel tilted his head and thought for a few minutes before nodding hesitantly, "Good. Will you say it with me?" Again Ciel nodded as he dredged up a memory from so very, very long ago.

 _Oz and Ciel_

 _Brothers together, friends forever_

 _Oz and Ciel_

 _Never parting the other and never hurting the other_

 _Oz and Ciel_

By the end of the poem Ciel's face was wet with tears. No one besides Oz would have known that. The young blue-haired boy fell into his Nii-tan's arms and sobbed as he had never sobbed before.

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 **Hopefully, I'll be able to give you an update soon. Depends on the feedback I get.**

 **Later! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm back! Thanks to both guests (I'm glad you like it and I hope to continue to please!) and to** **Espadakatsukreuz XIII (a: thanks so much for being the first to review and b: your name is absolutely amazing! XD) for reviewing and thanks to those who fav/followed this story! Hope ya'll like chapter 3! :)**

 **Chapter 3: Reunion**

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It took a while for Ciel to calm down enough to actually say anything. When he did finally stop crying, he took a few shuddering breaths and said, "Se-sebastian."

"Yes, my lord?" The black clothed butler leaned over and gave the younger boy a slight smirk. It had been a long time since the boy had shed tears and it amused him more than Ciel would have preferred.

Ciel pushed away from his big brother, the slightest tinge of a blush coloring his rather beautiful face, and turned towards his servant, "Prepare a room for Oz. Afterward, make sure that Gil hasn't let Bard destroy anything in the kitchen and have dinner ready by eight or nine, for two, of course."

Sebastian bowed and said, "Certainly, sir. Would you like me to bring some tea while you are waiting for Gil to finish his task?"

"I would, actually. We will be in my study." Ciel took hold of his brother's wrist and led him into the mansion, as Sebastian set out to follow his master's orders.

Ϙ-Ϙ-Ϙ

Sebastian walked quickly through the halls and reached the kitchen in record time. When he threw open the doors he was greeted with a cloud of black smoke and two burnt-faced servants. One of them had dark hair and was crying pitifully while the older, and taller of the two, sporting a good deal of stubble, had a cigarette butt clenched between his teeth and had short scruffy blonde hair, was crowing happily about how wonderfully his new flamethrower had worked.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!" Sebastian roared loud enough to rattle the entire estate, "GIL! Why did you let Bard in here with that thing?!" He pointed an accusing finger at the blackened piece of machinery lying on the ground by their feet.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Sebastian," Gil sniffled and hung his head sadly, "Finny asked for my help with something and by the time I got back he had…" he hiccupped as more tears poured down his face, "He had already starteeeed, WAAAAAH!" Sebastian sighed in frustration.

"All right, all right. Stop crying," something donned on the butler, so he said, "Why don't you make some tea and bring it up to the Young Master and his guest? Tell him that dinner should be ready soon."

Gil rubbed his face and nodded in compliance, "Guest?" He asked in curiosity as he dusted himself off and went to get the teacups and leaves.

Sebastian shed his tailcoat and rolled up his sleeves before answering, "Well, I've never met him but Young Master seemed rather distraught when he realized who he was," he thought for a bit and said with some caution, "I believe his name was Oz."

The fragile porcelain teacup Gil had picked up fell from his hand and landed on the ground with a loud _CRASH_. Both Bard and Sebastian jumped slightly at the sound. Gil just stood there, trembling a little in astonishment, "O-oz? Did you say Oz?" When Sebastian nodded, the dark-haired man dashed out of the kitchen and would have sprinted to Ciel's study if Sebastian hadn't caught him and forced him back.

"Oh no you don't! You can't just barge into Young Master's study, especially not when he is entertaining a guest. You should know better than that, Gil!" He frowned at the footman and pushed him into a chair.

"But Oz-sama is…" Gil trailed off as fresh tears threatened to fall, "If Oz-sama is back, I have to see him. He…he…" The dark-haired young man trailed off and allowed a few tears to slip down his face. Sebastian sighed quietly.

"All right, Gil. Finish making the tea and then you may go up and serve it to the Young Master and Oz-sama." Gil brightened and hurried to do so.

Ϙ-Ϙ-Ϙ

Neither Ciel nor Oz knew what to do, so silence reigned in the elaborate sitting room. Ciel was seated delicately on his favorite chair, placed close to the lit fireplace, while Oz was sitting cross-legged across from him in another chair.

After a good five minutes of awkward silence, Ciel finally spoke up, "So, um…" he tugged at his necktie to loosen it, "Where have you been, Nii-san?"

Oz, who had been staring blankly at the fire, started and looked back at his little brother. He 'hmmed' a bit and tilted his head to the side, "To be honest, I'm not sure. Though I think it might have been that Abyss place that Uncle and Father always talked about." The blonde hopped up and skipped around the room, "How long was I gone? You're obviously not a baby anymore."

Ciel chuckled in amusement, "Yes, well…you have been gone for ten years."

Oz stopped mid-skip, "What? Ten?" When Ciel nodded, he scratched his head and said, "Wow…that's a long time…" Again Ciel nodded, this time wearing a stonily blank expression. The blue-haired teen was desperately trying to keep his emotions in check and the only way he was going to be able to make it through this discussion without breaking down again was if he kept up his hard façade. It's almost amusing how he is able to shoot, torture and give orders that ruin other's lives without even a glimmer of remorse even though all it takes to seriously rattle him is to bring back his elder brother. Oh, the irony.

Anyway, once Oz got over the fact that he had missed ten years of his baby brother's life he walked back to his chair and sat down again, "Oh, by the way, I was wondering about that Sebastian guy. He's your butler right?"

Ciel breathed a silent sigh of relief at the change of subjects and answered with, "That's right. Although it's more like he's…mm…posing as my butler." He smirked to himself, crossed his legs and leaned against his hand, propped up by the arm of his chair.

Oz was very confused, "Huh? I don't get it. Why would he be, as you said, posing as a butler? Wouldn't that be kinda redundant?"

Again Ciel chuckled at his brother's words, "Well…" he glanced off to the side, "Sebastian isn't exactly human. In fact he's a Chain from the same Abyss you were sent to. I made a contract with him three years ago a few days after I turned ten." He pulled at the strings holding his eyepatch in place and let it slide down his face, revealing the same clock symbol that he had summoned his brother from. The symbol filled his right eye entirely and had turned it a slightly purple hue rather than the sky blue of his other. Oz widened his own eyes a tad but other than that didn't react much to the revelation.

"What is he getting out of it?" Was all he said.

"Hm?"

"I may not know much about Chains but I do know that any kind of contract, whether natural or supernatural, requires a payment or a sacrifice on both ends. So, what are you planning on giving him in exchange for 'posing' as your butler and obeying your commands?"

Ciel was quiet for a couple moments. He had only been a child when Oz had disappeared but even so he was positive that this was the first time he had seen him so serious about something. "…When he has completed the objective I laid out for him…I will give him my soul. Although he's only getting it because our contract is technically illegal. If I had gone about things the 'correct' way he would simply serve me until I died," he smiled sadly, "Under the circumstances though, the 'correct' way wasn't available to me. So neither of us had, nor have, much of a choice."

Oz's eyes flashed in anger, "Why? Why couldn't you have done things safely? And what could have possibly been so vital that you had to put your very soul on the line?!" The blonde boy was nearly (but not quite) shouting at the serene young man in front of him.

"…Calm down, Oz." Ciel stood and gave his brother, who had begun to unconsciously lift himself out of his seat, a small shove back into it, "You will probably never understand why I did what I did, but I made the decision of my own free will. And you have no right to condemn me for what I chose to do. You have no idea as to what I went through while you were gone."

As Oz and Ciel glared at each other (one in barely concealed anger; the other in haunted recollection accompanied by slight contempt), Gil knocked on the study door before entering with a tea cart in tow. Ciel quickly returned to his chair and said, "Gil. I'm guessing Sebastian informed you of Oz's reappearance."

"That's right, Young Master," the raven-haired man bowed respectfully and continued, "I hope you don't mind that I am serving your tea rather than Mr. Sebastian."

"Of course n-"

"Gil?" Oz whipped around in his chair and peeked over the back of it, "Is that you?"

The footman struggled to keep his composure but eventually, he succumbed to his emotions, let out a wailing, "OZ-SAMA!" and dashed over to give him a hug. Ciel smirked and Oz laughed happily as he returned the embrace. Inside, however, he was not feeling very cordial. He was frustrated with Ciel for not telling him his reasoning for what he had done and he was thinking about someone he had met while in the Abyss. This particular someone had mentioned (in one of his long and amusing speeches discussing the problem of being so 'perfect and spectacular' in such and 'ugly and depressing' place) a rather powerful Chain had allowed himself to be summoned by a young boy. At the time Oz had dismissed his ramblings as mere fodder but now he was beginning to wonder if the Chain this person had mentioned was Sebastian and that the boy might have been Ciel. He decided to ask Sebastian about it the minute they were alone. _I will protect Ciel,_ he thought with conviction, _Even if he doesn't want me to, I will keep him safe._

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 **Please review! :3**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Gryphon**

* * *

That night, after dinner had come and gone, Ciel was sitting in the library staring into the fire. He was feeling rather upset with himself for acting as he had with Oz. His face crumbled a little as he thought of his older brother. He didn't cry (he felt he had already used up all the tears allocated for that day, maybe even for the whole year) but he sure came close to it. In fact, if Sebastian hadn't come in just then to escort him to his room he might have anyway.

"My lord, it's getting rather late. Would you like to go to bed now?" The black clothed butler bowed politely. He was hiding a smirk as he addressed his master. The Chain found it highly amusing that his 'oh-so-stoic' little snac-oops…I mean, master, had gotten so worked up over the return of some boy.

Ciel sighed and closed his eyes, "Sebastian."

The butler looked up and saw that the earl was slouching in his seat and looking depressed. He blinked twice and said, "Yes, Young Master? What's wrong?" Sebastian took a few steps closer to the sad young boy and placed a light hand on his shoulder, "Are you all right?" He was a little worried now. He had never seen Ciel act like this. Ever.

"What should I do?" Ciel leaned back in his chair, eyes still closed, and made no attempt to brush his cheeky butler away.

Sebastian smirked again at the boy's lack of response, slowly removed his hand and knelt at his master's feet. "About what, Young Master? Oz?"

"Yes."

Sebastian thought for a moment before answering, "Why don't you treat him the way you treat your pawns? I would recommend being a bit…um…kinder with him than you tend to be with others. But I feel that both of you would benefit from such a relationship." His smirk softened a little as he gently lifted his master out of his chair and began carrying him to the _Victoria_ _Room_ where the child's bedroom was located.

Ciel opened his eyes slightly, so as not to fall asleep like a baby (although, simply being carried was childish enough, but that's just my own opinion), and said, "I suppose…but," he paused and attempted to hold back a yawn (attempted being the key word in this case; he failed miserably), "What does 'kinder' mean in this case? Should I call him 'Nii-chan,' like I used to? Would it be rude to call him Oz? What would be the easiest way to interact with him? What would cause the least amount of pain?"

He took a breath and was about to ask another question, but Sebastian interrupted before he could, "Calm down, Young Master," he sighed in exasperation (earning a glare and a Gibbs*); "You are tired and need to rest. It has been a long day, and you should get some sleep." He stopped when he arrived at his master's door. Sebastian shifted Ciel from being carried bridal style to being tucked carefully into one arm. He used his newly freed arm to open the door and close it again once he entered carrying his little master. He strode over to the king-sized bed and gently placed Ciel on it. He then walked over to the closet and got out the boy's nightshirt. As he was changing Ciel, he noticed that the earl was unusually silent. When he looked up, he let out a quiet chuckle.

Ciel was nearly asleep. His eyes were drooping and his head was beginning to sag. Sebastian could count on one hand the times Ciel had been this relaxed in front of him. He quickly finished changing the tired boy and picked him up again. Sebastian moved to the other side of the bed and laid Ciel down. He then tucked his master in and gave his head a slight pat. He whispered, "Good night, Young Master. Sleep well."

Ϙ-Ϙ-Ϙ

The next morning (at the unholy hour of three o'clock) Ciel was rudely jolted from his peaceful slumber when Oz leapt onto his bed and attempted to cuddle with his precious baby brother. Ciel thanked him by shoving the barrel of his hidden pistol into the face of the blonde. Oz yelped and ducked down out of range. When Ciel noticed who was 'attacking' him, he swore violently and shouted, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING, OZ?!"

Sebastian ran into his master's room in concern (he had been serenely cleaning his trusty silverware when he heard a noise coming from Ciel's room; he wasn't too worried because he hadn't felt the presence of any intruders but seeing as how Ciel has a record of waking up from nightmares in a panic, he came just in case something was wrong), "Young Master, are you all right?!"

Ciel turned his head toward Sebastian and growled, "This is an order! Get Oz back to his own room and don't wake me up until I ring for you. Is that clear?" His purple hued eye glowed ominously as he pushed his brother to the floor, shoved his pistol back under his pillow and lay back down with a _thwump_ , covering his head with his blanket in a huff.

Sebastian bowed slightly and whispered, "Yes, my lord." He then hoisted a very confused Oz off the floor and carried him out the door. In the hall, he placed the blonde back on the ground and took hold of one of his arms.

The butler practically had to drag Oz back to his guest room. The blonde was hissing and spitting like an angry cat, "Lemme go! I wanna talk to Ciel!"

Sebastian growled at him in annoyance, "Well you can't! Not at three in the morning at least! What on earth were you thinking?!"

Oz ripped his arm out of the butler's grasp and turned toward him, a fire burning in his eyes, "Actually, I was thinking that if I startled Ciel he would call for you and we would finally be able to talk." Sebastian stopped dead in his tracks. _Oz-sama planned the whole thing?_ Sebastian blinked in surprise, _Interesting. Maybe there is more to this brat than meets the eye._

The Chain grinned (mimicking a certain cat-like friend of his almost perfectly) and leaned down to look the blonde in the eye, "Is that so, little one."

A chill crept down Oz's spine, but the boy didn't show his discomfort. Instead, he replied with, "Yes. I want you to tell me what happened. Why wasn't Ciel able to form a legal contract with you and why does he keep hiding things from me?"

Sebastian chuckled and righted himself. "Don't you think those are questions you should be asking _him_?"

"I already tried to. He basically told me it was none of my business." Oz huffed and crossed his arms.

Again, Sebastian laughed but this time he said, "Well then, are you sure you want to know? Young Master's past isn't exactly what you would call happy." The blonde nodded quickly, so the black clothed butler smirked and began to tell Ciel's story.

Ϙ-Ϙ-Ϙ

I met him three years ago. He was still a tiny little thing then and it amused me to no end to see such a child look so desperate. He was the victim of a cultist group of nobles who wanted to use my powers to give them more of what they already possessed. He had summoned me quite by accident and I knew immediately that the frightened, quivering young child in front of me was the only one worthy enough to hold me as his trump card. I found it amazing that he was able to captivate my attention so fully. I smiled at him and said, **_You have sacrificed more than enough. Now it is up to you to decide if you are willing to make a contract with me and gain all the power in the world._**

Ciel took a shuddering breath and stretched his hand out to me, shouting, "I want power! I want the power to achieve revenge against the Baskerville clan! I WANT REVENGE FOR MY FAMILY! I'll make a contract with you!"

 ** _So you are willing to abandon the path of light for darkness…fine. Well then, let us mark our bodies with the contract seal. Where would you like it to be? Normally it is on the heart, but if you like I could-_**

"I don't care," he snapped, hurriedl. "Anywhere is fine."

This bout of bravery made me want to mock him, so I said, **_All right then, I shall put the seal in one of your beautiful eyes._** As I said that, I took hold of his face and completed the contract. He screamed in pain but never once faltered in his conviction.

Once everything was completed I out-stretched one of my hands and, when he grasped it in return, I asked him, **_What is your name?_**

"My name is Ciel. Ciel Phantomhive. I am the one who will inherit the house of the Earl Phantomhive." I laughed as he said that. His confidence and stubbornness was incredibly amusing.

 ** _I see. In that case, I suppose I should take a form suitable to be in the service of an earl._** After I said that, I slowly walked toward him and changed my body and clothes to look the way they do at the moment. Then I said, in a more human sounding voice, "Well then. Give me any order, my little lord."

Ciel gave me three permanent directives. The first was that I protect and never betray him until he completes his revenge. The second was that I obey him unconditionally, and the third was that I never lie. He then gave me the name 'Sebastian' and I brought him back to this mansion. We went through a bit of a rocky start but, eventually, we grew to understand and respect one another. A month after Ciel returned to England's social world, Gilbert showed up and was hired as a footman. Finnian and Bardroy were hired as gardener and cook, respectively, not long after that. I believe that's all there is to it. Have I satisfied your curiosity, Oz-sama?

Ϙ-Ϙ-Ϙ

During his story, Sebastian had escorted Oz to his room and was standing in the doorway, arms crossed. Oz had seated himself on his bed and listened quietly. When Sebastian finished, the blonde was silent for a few moments. He tilted his head to the side and said, "I suppose you have, Sebastian. Or would you rather I call you by your real name, Gryphon?" Oz's bright green eyes met Sebastian's ominously glowing red ones with bravado.

In all honesty, Sebastian was very surprised. It had been many, many centuries since anyone had called him by that name, "How do you know something like that, Oz?" The ancient Chain leaned over and looked Oz in the eyes, "Not even Ciel knows that name."

"I'm no idiot, regardless of how much I may act like one," Oz smirked as he got off the bed and approached the butler. He wrapped his hand around Sebastian's tie once he was close enough and pulled him down to his level, "While I was in the Abyss I did everything in my power to analyze it in its entirety. For ten years I researched, scrounged and figured out anything that had to do with it and all its residents. I know exactly who and what you are, and if you aren't careful, I will tell Ciel."

Sebastian laughed as dark, shadowy tendrils began to creep up around him and the air surrounding his body wavered, revealing his true form. He looked like a large raven bird with humanistic arms and legs. In addition, he had glowing red eyes and sharp pointy teeth. Oz shuddered slightly and pushed the Chain away. Sebastian (well, I suppose he should be called Gryphon at the moment) chuckled at his reaction and said, ** _You may say that you know everything there is to know about the abyss, but you have barely even scratched the surface, little one. I have been living in the abyss for centuries and I still don't know all there is to know about that place._** The Chain ruffled his obsidian feathers and purred, **_As for telling ciel, what would you say? And why would you believe you? Anything you could possibly tell him about the place wouldn't be of any use to hi-_**

"I met Undertaker."

Sebastian's eyes widened and he took a step back with a short hiss, **_He lives here in the human world! How could you have?!_**

Oz smiled. He finally had an advantage over the butler and he was going to take it for all it was worth. "My father introduced him to me when I turned thirteen. He heard about what happened to my family and came to see me. He acquainted me with some Chains and gave me some information on the more influential Chains, such as yourself," the blonde paused and took a breath, "Although he wasn't able to get me out of the Abyss he made things much easier and I was more equipped to deal with what went on down there. He told me a lot about you. About how you-"

 ** _Enough_** , growled Sebastian. He snarled and changed back into his human form, "I've heard enough. I understand. The only thing I don't understand is how you are planning on using me. So little one, enlighten me." Sebastian glared at the boy and gave a mock polite bow.

"First of all, my name is Oz. And I expect you to call me that," Sebastian's eyebrow twitched, but he nodded his acquiescence. Oz smirked and continued, "Second, I want you to make sure to let Ciel off his contract when you have carried out his revenge."

Sebastian started, "What?"

"Did you not hear me?"

"I heard you. And I understood what, and why, you said it. But I don't know how you can expect me to accomplish that. It's impossible. Even you should know that." Sebastian frowned and crossed his arms.

Oz followed suit and responded with, "I don't care if it's impossible. Figure something out, else Ciel will know everything."

The butler grimaced. "Fine. I'll do what I can."

Ciel's brother chuckled and sneered at the Chain, "You'd better."

* * *

 ***NCIS. If you don't know what I'm talking about, look it up. I can guarantee you will be pleased with the results.**

 **Finished with chapter four and on to chapter five! Oh and just to clarify, Gryphon is a name from** ** _Pandora Hearts._** **If anyone remembers which character used it, please tell me so I can make sure to work around that. I hope you enjoyed it! Please review!** **J**


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm so terrible at updating. -_-'**

 **I would like to thank everyone who reviewed and I hope ya'll enjoy chapter five! :)**

* * *

In his room, Ciel sat up and threw off his blankets. He didn't really mind that Oz had come to see him, in fact, he was quite happy about it…after he realized that Oz wasn't a threat to him, that is. Unfortunately for the blonde, Ciel's brain worked quicker than his emotions. The blue-haired earl slid off his bed and walked to his window. The smallest amount of light was just beginning to peek over the horizon. He stared at the vast expanse of land outside the glass.

 _Mother…Father…what do I do? I wish you were here…I don't know what to do._

"Young Master? I'm surprised to see you awake." Sebastian quietly closed the door behind him and bowed politely, still brushing away the last traces of his talk with Oz. "Would you like for me to draw your bath? Or would you prefer to take it tonight?"

Ciel turned from the window and glanced over his shoulder at Sebastian. He didn't speak for a bit. After a few moments, our young earl clasped his hands behind his back and faced his butler fully, "I think I'll take it tonight," he tilted his head to the side and continued, "Did you talk to Oz?"

Sebastian started in surprise and glanced up at his master, "Sir?"

"Oz. Did you talk to him?"

"Oh. Yes, sir, I did."

"What did you talk about?"

Sebastian glanced off to the side before responding, "Well, he asked me about how we met so I told him. Should I have not?" The butler deliberately left out the bit about Oz knowing his real name and threatening to tell his secret if Ciel wasn't let out of his contract. He figured it would be slightly redundant to blab a secret he was willing to break their contract over.

The blue-haired boy raised an eyebrow, "What did he say? After you told him, that is."

Sebastian frowned a little. He couldn't very well tell his master that his older brother had somehow acquired access to his real name and hadn't seemed remorseful in the slightest after hearing how the two had come to meet. So, to save his pride and his master's feelings, Sebastian did something he had been specifically ordered not to do. He lied. "He seemed rather distraught, and refused to go back to his room until I told confirmed that you were in good health and hadn't been scarred for life." As soon as the words left his mouth, Sebastian felt bile rise in his throat and he desperately attempted to keep up his calm persona amidst the wave of nausea that suddenly washed over him. _So this is what happens when I disobey an order?_ he thought, teeth clenched tightly together, _Oh, dear…_

Ciel didn't notice his butler's sudden onslaught of queasiness. He wasn't even looking at Sebastian anymore. He was, once again, staring out the window, lost in memories and emotions. "Distraught, huh? I don't think I've ever seen Nii-chan look 'distraught.' Worried, maybe. But never distraught. That must have been interesting." He sighed imperceptibly and sat down on the window sill, looking very small and very, very sad.

Ϙ-Ϙ-Ϙ

Oz had stalked a few times around the estate before returning to his room after talking with Sebastian. He was still quite frustrated about the answer the butler had given him. He wanted a story that would have proved his point, not do the exact opposite.

He slammed his door and growled with uncharacteristic anger. After a few deep breathing exercises, he calmed down enough to realize that someone was knocking on the door of his room.

Oz took one more sedating breath and went to let in his guest. "Yes?" He said as he opened the door. To his surprise (and delight), it was Gil. "Ah, Gil! What can I do for you, my friend?" He leaned forward in anticipation and beamed at the footman.

Gil smiled too and replied, "Actually, Oz-sama, I'm here to see if I can do anything for you. Young Master Ciel usually gets up at six or seven, but I know that you have always enjoyed waking up early and roaming about. Would you like me to make you something to eat? Or would you rather wait for Young Master Ciel?"

The blonde hummed for a bit as he thought. "I'll wait for Ciel. In the meantime, can you show me around? This place is a little different from how I remember it." Oz chuckled sheepishly and scratched his head.

Gil laughed lightly and said, "Sure thing, Oz-sama. Young Master Ciel made lots of changes when he had the place rebuilt. For instance…" As the two walked around the Phantomhive estate, Gil rambled on about the various changes made to the place. Oz tuned him out after a while and instead turned to his own thoughts about various plans, plots, and ideas.

Gil and Oz wandered about, talking and laughing, for two or three hours before hearing Sebastian ring the breakfast bell. They headed into the dining room and Gil seated Oz across from Ciel, who had been attempting to get some work done rather than dwell on his uncomfortable feelings. It didn't go quite as well as he wanted, but he felt that he had done enough to warrant some food.

"Good morning, Oz," Ciel nodded his head at his older brother before going back to reading through a tall stack of papers.

Oz plastered on a grin and chirped, "Good morning~! Did you sleep well, Ciel?"

One of Ciel's eyebrows shot up as he glared menacingly at the blonde (Oz didn't seem to be affected by it though; if anything, he appeared to be basking in Ciel's attention), "You woke me up at three in the morning. By jumping on me. At three in the bloody morning!" Ciel snapped his last words and you could see an angry fire burning around his body.

Oz chuckled happily and thought, _He just repeated himself! X'D_

Ciel, irked that Oz didn't seem to be listening, growled, "Why?!"

"Why, what, Ciel?"

The one-eyed earl stifled a groan and ground out, "Why did you wake me up so early?"

Oz's snickered and said, "Because I love you, Ciel! And besides, you look so cute when you're sleeping. I just couldn't resist saying good morning to you!" He held out his arms and smiled widely, waiting for a response.

First, Ciel blanched. Then his face turned the color of a very ripe tomato. And lastly, he gritted his teeth and exploded.

When Sebastian came into the dining room, it looked like a snowstorm had blown through it. Ciel was tossing papers at Oz while the blonde cackled happily and deftly evaded Ciel's attacks. The butler allowed the shenanigans to go on for exactly five minutes (he figured that his master needed to let loose every once in a while and now was as good a time as any). After the five minutes transpired, he clapped his hands twice, freezing everything (and everyone) in its (their) tracks. He quickly picked up every single one of the papers, sorted them, and set them down next to Ciel's place at the table. Then, he scooped Ciel up and set him down in his seat. He did the same thing with Oz, before clapping his hands two more times and allowed time to start back up.

Ciel blinked a few times before frowning at Sebastian, "Sebastian! How many times do I have to tell you, don't freeze time without warning me first?!" He crossed his arms in a huff.

Oz simply looked around in confusion and said, "What just happened?"

"Sebastian took it upon himself to stop our fight," Ciel huffed, "It's one of his many abilities." He waved his hand, dismissing the subject, and turned to face Sebastian, saying, "What are we having this morning, Sebastian?"

"I prepared En Cocotte à la Crème for today, my lord," the butler whisked the various plates, cutlery, and trays of food onto the table, "Is there anything else you would like for me to do?"

"No, that will be all," Ciel waved him away but called out at the last minute, "Oh, actually, I do have one more thing for you to do this morning."

"Certainly, my lord. What is it?"

"Lady Sharon's letter," Ciel took a bite of his meal and held out a paper to Sebastian, "It seems she, Break, and that Trancy brat are coming over to discuss the Queen's most recent request."

"I see. Would you like me to get things ready for their arrival?"

"Yes, and make sure to hide anything breakable," he closed his eyes and rubbed at his temples, "It cost a fortune to replace the things Alois got his hands on the last time he was here. I still can't believe he broke that vase Soma gave me. It was literally priceless!" Ciel growled and scrubbed his hands through his hair. "Oh, one more thing. After they are gone, leave something sweet in my study, along with a bottle of aspirin."

Sebastian chuckled and said, "Yes, my lord. Any particular preference?"

"Nope," Ciel glanced up at his butler, "But it had better be big and sweet and good."

"Certainly," Sebastian bowed and walked into the kitchen to begin working on preparations for his master's guests.

Ciel went back to rotating between eating, reading, and writing letters while Oz picked at his food. The blonde never ate anything in the Abyss, aside from the few times when he had tea and 'cookies' with Undertaker.

After a while, Oz got bored so he decided to bother his baby brother a bit. "Hey, Ciel?" He sighed and pushed away his plate. The earl's eyebrow twitched, but he remained silent. "Cieeel!" Oz whined loudly, kicking his feet against the bottom of the table.

Ciel started when the table shook but barely spared Oz a second glance. The blonde, fed up with being ignored, leapt onto the table and danced around the various dishes 'til he reached Ciel's place (which was across from his own). He slid the boy's plate aside and plopped down right in the middle of Ciel's work. "Hi, Ciel!" The blonde giggled and rocked back and forth excitedly.

At first, Ciel just stared at the place where Oz had sat on a letter he had been in the middle of writing. It took him a few seconds to control his flaring temper and compose himself. He slowly breathed out before looking up at his elder brother. "Oz…"

"Yes, Ciel?" Oz brightened at the sound of his name.

"Do you know what you are sitting on?" The blue-haired child pointed to the sheets of paper underneath his brother. Oz looked down and shook his head 'no.' Ciel took another calming breath and said, "It's a contract. With a very important firm. One that will be a great asset to the Phantomhive company in the future."

"Really?!" The blonde looked startled at the news, but quickly broke into a wide grin, "Sweeeet! Such an expensive cushion, hehe!" When the last word left his mouth, he could see one of the veins in Ciel's forehead throbbing in his frustration. The blue-haired earl stood quickly, his chair scraping across the floor, pushed his brother off the papers, scooped them up, and stalked to his office.

Sebastian came out of the kitchen and walked up to Oz. "What did you do?" The butler questioned, raising an eyebrow.

The blonde sat up and crossed his legs. His demeanor shifted as quickly as Sebastian had stopped time. Oz grinned, his eyes squinting a little, "Oh, nothing~ I was just a little bored so I started teasing him a bit. I didn't expect him to storm away though," he slid off the table and giggled, "I figured he would explode again like he did when I first came down. He's so cute when he's mad!"

Sebastian scoffed, "Come now, Young Master Ciel is terrifying when he's mad. Especially when he has annoying guests to deal with."

"Who are these guests anyway?" Oz skipped around the table as he talked, "I've heard of Sharon. She was at my coming-of-age ceremony. But Break and Alois? I've heard Father speak about the Trancy's a few times, but I've never met any of them."

"Well, Break is technically Lady Sharon's second cousin, but they got married a few years ago. He's very protective of her. Alois Trancy is in a situation similar to that of the Young Master's. His family died when he was little and his uncle took care of him until just recently."

"Why just recently?"

"He was killed about two years ago."

"Oh…well then, I suppose this Alois is the new head of the Trancy family. This is going to be interesting," the blonde smirked and muttered to himself, "Very interesting…"

* * *

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **Please review! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey! It's been a long time since I've updated any of my stories but today is kind of special so I'll be updating all of them (well** _ **most**_ **is a more accurate word to use) at once! XD**

 **Here's chapter 6: Dear Little Pets**

* * *

"Ciel~!" Platinum blonde hair bounced as the boy it belonged to leapt to hug his 'friend.' Said 'friend,' yelped at the unexpected show of affection but quickly beat the boy away.

"Knock that off, Alois!" Ciel growled angrily, "I'm not in the mood for your shenanigans."

"Aww! But, Ciel~," the blonde whined and tried to grab onto him again, "You haven't called us over in suuuuuch a loooong tiiiime! Don't you agree, Sharon-chaaan?"

Sharon, the same golden blonde beauty Oz had danced with at his coming-of-age ceremony, giggled and chirped delicately, "Well, it has been a long time but considering the circumstances of our companionship I'm not entirely sure it's such a good thing for us to be meeting once again."

"Buuut we neeeever eeeever get to see each other!" Alois released Ciel and spun around as he talked (well, actually, Alois doesn't just talk, he kind of…sings…I guess…but you guys know what I mean, right?), "You'd think that even if there weren't assignments from Her Majesty," he crossed himself, muttering, "May she live forever," before continuing, "We would still come visit each other more often…we're supposed to be friends aren't we…" He trailed off and folded his hands behind his back. He gazed into the distance with a quiet sigh. Sharon and Ciel had known him for long enough to realize he was totally out of it at this point.

Ciel snarled under his breath before walking over to the blonde boy and placing a hand on his shoulder, "We are friends, Alois. And we do visit each other. Often. Remember a couple days ago when I came over for tea? And a week before that, you and I both went to Sharon's place for dinner. Don't you remember that?" He squeezed Alois's shoulder gently, trying to pull him out of the pit of his own thoughts.

Alois gave a small jolt and whipped around to face Ciel. His eyes were wide with surprise, mouth slightly open. Ciel kept his hand steady but allowed a kind smirk to cross his face. The blonde blinked and grinned with a happy laugh. "Oh yeah! I forgooot! Haha! Silly me~!" He bumped his forehead with his fist, sticking out the tip of his tongue as he did so.

As the three friends continued to talk for a while outside, Oz watched them from his bedroom window. He had gone up after a short discussion with Sebastian. He smiled as Ciel smacked Alois again, waving his arms around in faux frustration. He looked like he was enjoying himself for the first time since Oz had come back.

Oz leaned back against the windowsill, staring at the pale blue sky. The sun was shining brightly (a rare occurrence for mid-autumn England) and a slight breeze was blowing various orange colored leaves around. The blonde frowned. He actually preferred the pitch black of the Abyss to this bright light. It hurt his eyes and he felt uncomfortably warm.

Pushing himself away from the window, he ran his hands roughly through his hair. He stopped in front of a large mirror and examined what he saw. Ciel had Sebastian make the blonde some new clothes (the old ones were quite dirty) before dinner the night before, so now he was wearing an outfit more similar to Ciel's personal style.

He had black boots that came halfway up his calves, decorated by one small navy blue ribbon at each ankle, with pale trousers that fit him just right. Tucked into the trousers was a blue button-up shirt covered by a vest and topped with a frilly white ascot held in place by a brooch so dark in shade Oz couldn't tell what color it was supposed to be. Over all of this he had on a black coat that came to just above his knees. When buttoned up the coat was a close fit on his slight frame. When un-buttoned, however, it flowed loosely around him and reminded him of a skirt.

His hair was pale blonde, as usual, cut in a style similar to Alois's. His eyes were bright green, though they seemed to be hiding something dark and mysterious. Oz smirked at the mirror and watched as his reflection smirked back.

A knock sounded at the door, forcing Oz to tear his gaze away from his own reflection, "Yes?"

Sebastian appeared in the doorway and said in his velvety smooth voice, "The young master wishes for you to join him, Lord Trancy, and Lady Rainsworth in the library."

"Really?" Oz raised an eyebrow in surprise, "I'm amazed. He was pretty upset with me this morning."

The chain dropped his butler act, saying, "Indeed. Young Master complained to me a few times while he was working in his study about how much of a disaster breakfast was. You most decidedly ruined his morning," he gave the blonde a pointed look as he crossed his arms, "I'm doubly surprised that he hasn't tried to murder Alois yet. That child infuriates Young Master even on a good day."

Oz laughed with amusement, "Is that so! He sounds interesting…" the blonde skipped over to, then past, Sebastian before he finished his thought, "You said Ciel was waiting for me in the library, right?"

"That's right. Would you like me to bring you there?" Sebastian turned on his heel and followed after Oz.

Oz shook his head, hair flying, and said, "No. I used to live here, remember? I'll find my own way."

The butler nodded quietly and bowed low, "Of course, sir."

Ϙ-Ϙ-Ϙ

In the library, a few minutes before Oz arrived, the three Evil Noblemen were talking about the Queen's most recent command. She had sent all of them a letter requesting that they take care of a small matter. Her exact words were as follows:

 _My dear little pets,_

 _Recently I have been hearing rumors flying about of a serial killer known as Jack the Ripper. In light of the fact that many various murders of the same_ modus operandi _have occurred, I am beginning to fear that the rumors of this serial killer are true. It pains me to hear of so many innocent deaths and I was hoping you three might be able to alleviate this aggravation of mine._

 _I hope you are all doing well and wish you the best of luck._

 _Yours truly,_

 _Victoria_

Ciel was the first to comment, "I still don't understand why she insists on calling us that. It's incredibly annoying."

Alois laughed lightly, "Well, you're her dog, I'm her spider, and Sharon is her rat. We belong to her. What else would she be calling us?"

"I don't know," Ciel mumbled grumpily, "Anything'd be better than 'dear little pets'…"

Sharon chuckled and entered the conversation, "So you would be okay with her calling us, 'monstrous disgusting creatures?'"

The earl grumbled for a bit before muttering a quiet, "No…"

The blonde woman smiled sweetly at him, "I thought not. Now then, back to business," Sharon clapped her hands once, watching silently as the two boys straightened their postures and went into work mode.

Ciel, their unofficial leader, nodded firmly and was about to begin when he heard a knock on the door. "Come in," he called out, thinking it was Sebastian or Gil with tea. Instead of seeing the butler or footman enter, Oz walked in grinning widely. Ciel blinked in surprise before smiling slightly and saying, "Ah, Oz. Perfect timing. Alois, Sharon, I would like you to meet my elder brother, Oz Phantomhive," he motioned with his hand at the blonde, uncovered eye half-closed.

Alois raised an eyebrow, "Your big brother? I thought you said he was dead."

"I thought he was actually," Ciel sighed, waving his brother over and letting him sit down on the couch next to himself, "But, as it turned out, he was simply sent to the Abyss. He was there for ten years but yesterday, while I was finishing up that business with that brat Azzurro Vener, I unconsciously called for him and he just appeared…out of nowhere to be honest," he glanced over at the blonde next to him with a slight smile, "My brother is back…after ten years, he's finally back."

Sharon raised her eyebrows in surprise, "Oz? Oh my, it has certainly been a long time! At least since I've seen you. Do you remember me?"

The blonde laughed brightly and sparkled as he knelt at Sharon's feet, "My beautiful mistress, how could I possibly forget you? A dozen centuries would simply be a few moments if you would be waiting for me at the ex-"

 _THWACK_

"Oh dear, I'm terribly sorry about that! I didn't see you there!" A sing-songy voice played on Oz's ears from his new position lying on the ground, upended on his head. He stared incredulously at the man that had kicked him away from Sharon. The man had snowy white hair that covered one of his eyes, and the one that wasn't hidden looked, to Oz at least, as bright red as Sebastian's.

The man snickered behind his long sleeves before perching himself on the arm of Sharon's chair. The blonde woman laughed sweetly and said to Oz as he stumbled to his feet, "I'm sorry about that Oz. This is my husband, Xerxes Break, just Break for short," she patted the man's leg, "As you can tell, he can be a little over protective of me on occasion."

Oz huffed and crossed his arms, glaring at the man who had stolen his beautiful Sharon away. Break grinned at the blonde teen, saying, "Keep your filthy paws off my wife, brat. If you do not follow this one simple rule I'll kill you and make it look like you died in an accident, capeesh?" Even though his expression didn't match up with what he was saying, Oz understood what he meant so he nodded grouchily.

He grumbled a bit on his way back to his spot next to Ciel (who was trying in earnest not to die of laughter) and snapped at Alois (who had no qualms about cackling madly at him), "Oh, shut up!"

Alois managed to stutter out a few words in between his giggling, "I-it's just that Break has done and said the exact same thing to every single person who dares to even look at Sharon the wrong way. He even dared do it to you, Earl Ciel Phantomhive's elder brother!" He burst into even wilder laugher and pounded the side of his chair in amusement.

Ciel choked on a laugh before clapping a hand to his mouth. He didn't wish to give his brother any more reason to feel embarrassed in his company. The young earl composed himself quickly and waved a hand at Alois, "That's quite enough, Alois. Don't tease Oz like that. He may be a stranger to you, but he is still my brother and you _will_ treat him respectfully, is that clear?" His words may have been harsh, but his eye sparkled with un-released laughter.

The platinum blonde boy giggled a few more times before leaning forward and singing out, "Yeeeees, Cieeeeeeel. I'll be nice. I promise!" He flung himself back into his seat, bursting into a new round of snickering.

Oz flopped down next to Ciel, saying, "No need to be particularly nice to me…uh…Alois, was it?"

"Yup!"

"All right, well, Alois, no need to be formal with me. Just treat me like you would anyone. I don't deserve anything more, okay?" Oz huffed quietly as he crossed his legs and arms.

Alois gave the teen an evil grin and rose slightly out of his seat, "Are you sure about that, Oz? I treat my friends and those I'm supposed to respect in a very different manner than normal people. Think it over a bit, all right? I promise to treat you however you like. Just make sure to tell me. I'll continue to be mean if you don't, got that?"

Oz grunted with a smile, "I think we're going to get along just fine, don't you, Alois?"

"Only if you've got nerves of steel, Oz."

"Well, you're in luck," the blonde teen gave a flighty laugh, "It just so happens that I have both nerves and feelings of platinum, so I think everything will be just fine!"

Alois giggled sweetly, "Wonderful!"

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 **Please leave a review! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Heyooooooooo~**

 **I know it's been a while since I've updated this story, but I made up for it by having this one be a lot longer than usual.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 7: Mysteries**

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After the two blondes finished laughing at (or with, I'm not sure which they were doing) each other, Ciel regained control of the situation and began laying out a plan to capture the serial killer Jack the Ripper.

"All right, settle down everyone. Time to get to work," he shifted in his seat and picked up the queen's letter, "Oz, do you want to sit in on our meeting or will you entertain yourself otherwise?"

"I'll stay," Oz leaned forward in his seat and steepled his fingers under his chin, "I doubt anything would be as interesting as watching my baby brother work!" He grinned sweetly at Ciel before falling silent.

Ciel scoffed a little and murmured, "I'm not a baby anymore, Oz," he cleared his throat and shifted again, "Now, to business. Alois, do you have any info on the perpetrator?"

Alois giggled happily, "Of course, Ciel," he snapped his fingers and a man with glasses appeared behind him. The man handed him a file folder and stepped back into the darkness. Alois hummed a 'thanks' and flipped through the file quickly, "Okay, so the killer's MO is pretty simple actually. He targets female prostitutes, slits their throats from behind, and guts them," he paused and flipped back a page, "Oh, wait…he doesn't actually gut them. The cops think he does but Undertaker sent me a report saying that all the victims were missing their uterus."

"Just that?" Ciel interrupted.

"Yup," Alois glanced up at him with a nod, "He also said that although the women's abdomens were cut open post mortem. The uterus had been removed surgically beforehand."

Sharon hummed, "Why would he cut their abdomens if he wasn't going to remove anything?"

"He might have been trying to make a point…" Ciel leaned against his armrest, brows furrowed in thought, "All of the women were prostitutes, meaning if they wanted to avoid the trouble of raising children or paying to have them aborted, they needed to have the surgery. It's possible that the perpetrator wishes to make a point that those who aren't willing to be parents shouldn't be in that line of work," he paused and ran a hand through his hair, "That does seem kind of deep for a killer though…"

"Not really," Alois crossed his legs before continuing, "If the killer's mother was a prostitute as well, he might be committing these murders to keep any more children from being forced into a life like he had to live."

Ciel shook his head, "No, he only targeted women who were _unable_ to have children anymore. They had just surgically removed their only way of having children, if his reasoning was as you said he would have killed pregnant women, not ones who had removed any chance of giving birth."

Alois hummed his agreement, "I suppose so…but why then?"

"'Why?' doesn't matter right now," Sharon interjected calmly, "'Who?' is what we need to determine before he kills anymore innocent women."

Ciel and Alois nodded silently as they mulled over a few different possibilities. Eventually, Ciel spoke up, "Well, we aren't going to be able to figure out anything without suspects, so I suppose we should start there. Sharon, any leads?"

"None so far, but the Yard may know something more by now."

Ciel and Oz scoffed simultaneously. "Scotland Yard is full of good-for-nothing morons who can barely tell the difference between their rears and a hole in the ground," Ciel rolled his un-covered eye mockingly, "How could they possibly have found something?" Alois snorted with laughter and Sharon had to hold her hand to her mouth to keep from giggling at her colleague's dig at the incompetent police force. "No, we need to do this ourselves," Ciel motioned for Sebastian to step forward, "Sebastian, get Alice to do some investigating for us. Tell her she will be richly rewarded for her troubles, as usual."

His Chain bowed deeply and replied, "Yes, my lord," before straightening and vanishing in a puff of smoky black feathers to accomplish his task.

Oz cast a curious glance at his younger brother, "Who is this 'Alice,' Ciel?

Ciel gently lifted his teacup from the table and took a sip from it, "I met her around the same time I met Sebastian. She taught me some of the ins and outs of being a Chain master and how the whole process works really," he trailed off into silence as he swirled the steaming brown liquid in his cup, "She helped me take back my life and I will always be grateful to her for what she did for me."

The blonde blinked in surprise at Ciel. He had been expecting something more along the lines of, 'Oh, she's just an information broker I met who does good work at a reasonable price,' but instead got a full on deep backstory as to why his brother knows the girl. A sharp stab of pain shot through his heart as he realized Ciel had been forced to rely on this unknown girl because he had been all alone in the world. His brother was missing, parents dead, living relatives silenced when they became nuisances, servants' voices bought…there was no one Ciel could have gone to for help. Just one stranger girl who took pity on him. Oz frowned at the sudden thought and fell quiet, not wishing to clue his brother onto his overactive imagination.

Ciel didn't even spare his elder brother a second glance. He was far to consumed with past memories to notice the other's silence. Alois, Sharon, and Break on the other hand…well, let's just say they most definitely noticed.

Sharon cleared her throat and said in her sweetest, most sing-songy voice, "Well~, since it may be a while until Sebastian returns, why don't the five of us play a few frames of billiards? I believe Ciel still owes the rest of us a rematch after the butt-kicking he gave us last time!" She was joined in her laughter by Alois and Oz. Ciel just rolled his eyes and smirked at them.

"If you insist upon degrading yourselves once again, I'll be happy to comply," he pushed himself off the couch and motioned for everyone to follow him to the billiard room, "Will snooker be adequate?" Everyone nodded or agreed verbally as they walked. Ciel then asked, "Oz, would you like to play or will you just watch?"

The blonde glanced at him and grinned, saying, "I'll play whoever wins. I've never been much for playing snooker in a group. I will be ref before I play though, if you need me to."

Ciel smirked to himself before replying, "Thanks, but Break is usually ref. He's completely fair and has called some really great shots before. He's also the most experienced with the rules."

"All right, then. I'll just watch for now," Oz bumped his little brother's shoulder lightly with his own and skipped over to the line of chairs set up behind the snooker table.

The other's followed Ciel to the stand where a large case held four long cues. Ciel gently plucked one of them out of the case and motioned for his opponents to grab one as well. Alois and Sharon did as he expected before taking their positions at the sides of the table.

Break grabbed the triangle and set the various red and coloured balls on the table. The red balls were all arranged in a pyramid shape at one end of the table while the coloured balls were placed at strategic points all along the length of the table. He then pulled a shilling out of his pocket and asked, "Heads or tails, Ciel?"

Ciel, being the gentleman his father had always hoped he'd be, replied, "Let Sharon go first, then Alois. I want them to have a decent chance at winning, after all." While saying this, he had a dangerous grin on his face.

Break laughed at his friend's statement and said, "All right then, Sharon dear, if you please," he placed the shilling back in his pocket and motioned for his wife to approach the table.

Sharon chuckled magnanimously (though Break could _feel_ the frosty determination seeping out of her) and took her place at the head of the table. She bent at the waist and positioned her cue so that it aligned perfectly with the white cue ball. She inhaled slowly, feathered her cue gently, and, as she exhaled, struck the cue ball.

It went flying towards the red balls and knocked them perfectly out of formation. She hadn't potted any of the red balls, however, so Alois was up.

The platinum blonde surveyed the table carefully as he rubbed a little chalk on his cue. After he was finished, he stepped up to the table and took a shot at one of the red balls, which had rested in the most perfect position. He was able to pot the ball with no trouble, before turning his cue on the black ball. He lined up his shot and took it, also scoring the black ball.

Break removed the ball from the side pocket Alois had struck it into and replaced it in its original position. After giving Ciel a cheeky grin, Alois continued to pot another five red balls along with multiple black colour balls. He only missed the sixth red ball because he decided to try a risky play and ended up messing it up.

After that, Ciel took the stage. He was an expert at the game and had no qualms about letting everyone know it. He easily potted the rest of the red balls, making sure to also pot the black ball every time, and knocked the colours in one at a time. The frame was over and Alois and Sharon had lost by a long shot. Sharon hadn't even gotten a chance to go back to the table after her turn ended at the start of the game.

Oz, who had watched the entire frame with great amusement, began attempting to stifle his cackling laughter. He had no idea Ciel was so good at the game and he was actually starting to get a little worried.

The three friends played two more frames and each time Ciel soundly beat them. By the end of the third frame, Sharon and Alois were so frustrated they both pouted like children. Alois more so than Sharon (she felt she was too much of a lady to make a scene). He whined to Ciel, "How can you be so unnaturally good at this stupid game?!" He stuck his tongue out at his friend and grumbled some more.

In reply, Ciel laughed and used his cue to lightly touch Alois's chin, closing the blonde's jaw down on his stretched out tongue, "I'm good at it because I practice it a lot. And don't stick your tongue out, it's rude." He bopped the boy lightly on the head with his cue and turned to Oz, leaning tauntingly on the table as he did so, "Well, then, _Nii-san_ , ready to play?"

Oz was a little stunned at the level of confrontation in his little brother's voice, but didn't let if show as he responded, equally challenging, I might add, "Of course, my dear, sweet _baby_ brother. I can't wait."

The two of them chuckled at each other's confidence for a moment before Break intervened and told them to call heads or tails. Oz called tails and won, so he started the frame. They were still playing best two out of three, but Oz knew that if he wanted to have any chance of beating Ciel he had to plan his moves carefully. He couldn't go into this without thinking. If he did, Ciel would obliterate him. He had to be smart and think of the game as a chess match. Just with a tad more luck than usual.

He started out by breaking the formation and expertly sending the red balls in exactly the positions he wanted. None of the balls were potted so it became Ciel's turn. The boy swiftly potted the few obvious red balls and colours before realizing what Oz had set up for him. If he continued to pot red balls and aim for the higher colour balls, as was his personal style when playing the game, he would wind up in a snooker. With a short snort of laughter Ciel turned the tables on his brother. Instead of potting another easy shot, Ciel, almost violently, struck the cue ball so that it knocked all the red balls out of the formation Oz had set up and into Ciel's own arrangement.

Since Ciel had deliberately missed, Oz was up next. He frowned as he surveyed the table Ciel had set up for him. He was almost ready to just take a random shot, but before he did, he saw something he could work with. It was risky, but Oz felt confident that he could make the shot. He did, and Ciel was left slack-jawed as Oz went on to win the frame.

For the next frame, Ciel went first and was able to pot a red ball on the first shot. He then continued to successfully make a maximum break. With every shot, the blue-haired boy would carefully survey the table before promptly potting whichever ball he had his eye on.

While Break was setting up the balls for the third frame (barely able to contain his laughter at the warring siblings), Oz grinned cunningly at his little brother and said, "Very impressive, Ciel~! I've only ever seen Father break maximum before."

"Well, I've had a great deal of time to practice," Ciel rubbed a little chalk on his cue before settling himself in a chair next to the table. Oz was up first this time, so the blue-haired earl felt that he had some time to relax. He was hoping that during this frame he and Oz would be able to have an actual match, rather than just prove their brilliance by winning upfront.

Oz seemed to want this too, so he simply broke the red balls formation and said to Ciel, "How about we actually play this round, little bro?"

Ciel snickered quietly, saying, "Sounds good to me, Oz," as he lightly stepped up to the table and settled into his striking position. He gently potted a few red balls and colours, before glancing over at Oz and deliberately bumped the cue ball into a red ball which sent multiple other balls spinning around the table. Oz chuckled at the saucy attitude and got ready to take his turn.

The two of them went on potting balls back and forth, sometimes teasing each other, sometimes just playing normally. Near the end of the frame Oz was ahead by a single point and Ciel had just cornered him into a tricky spot.

Oz was unable to make his way around the tight spot and swore angrily when he missed the shot. He knew that was the last chance he might have had to win and he had just lined up a shot for Ciel that would enable him to win. At his brother's seething rage, Ciel patted him on the shoulder, saying, "Tough luck, Oz. Better luck next time~!" He cheerfully finished up the frame and was declared the winner.

By this time, Sebastian had returned and was simply standing in the doorway waiting for his master to finish his game. Once Ciel had set his cue back in the wall case, Sebastian took a small step forward, allowing his master to notice his presence and act upon it.

Ciel finished placating Oz and accepting congratulations from his friends before he said, "Sebastian, did you do as I asked?"

The butler bowed politely and purred (in his ever sultry voice), "Of course, Young Master. In fact, Miss Alice had anticipated you wishing to know more about the cases so she had already put together a file on it and insisted upon bringing it to you herself. She's waiting in the ha-"

"CIEL-CHAAAAAAN!" A tiny brunette with lilac colored eyes dashed in from the hall way and bounded over to Ciel.

The blue-haired boy was surprised but quite pleased to see his friend. He opened his arms and allowed the girl to squeeze him in a tight hug (which, much to Oz's astonishment, he returned), as he said, "It's good to see you again, Alice. How have you been?"

Alice pulled back suddenly and began jabbering happily, "I've been great, Ciel! How about you? I haven't seen you in forever! How come you haven't visited recently? I missed yooooooooooou!" She gave Ciel another crushing hug but let him go once he started to turn the color of his hair.

After Ciel had regained his breath and regular pale color, he motioned at Oz and introduced the two, "Oz, I'd like you to meet my friend, Alice. Alice this is my elder brother, Oz."

Alice looked sharply at her friend, "Brother? You told me he was dead."

"I thought he was," Ciel raised his uncovered eyebrow at his brother, "But he was recently…recalled to life,* I suppose you might say."

"Hmm…" Alice did not look convinced as she stalked over to the blonde. She frowned at Oz, 'hmm'ing again every few moments. After a bit, she jabbed her finger into his face and snarled, "Do you know how much trouble you caused Ciel by _pretending_ to be dead?! Do you know how _many_ nightmare stricken nights he had to live through without you?! Do you know how many weeks I spent being there for him in ways only _you_ should have been?! Ciel's your BROTHER! How could you leave him behind like that?!" Ciel tried to stop Alice's rant by placing a hand on her shoulder, but she was on a roll, "You should be ashamed of yourself leaving him behind for ten years! It's a wonder he even WANTS to remember you after what you did. You deserve to burn in the Abyss!"

During this tirade, Oz, wisely, kept silent. When she was finished, he tilted his head to one side and said sweetly, "Are you done now?"

This blithe remark, however, sent Alice into a rage, "DID YOU EVEN HEAR WHAT I JUST SAID?!" She shrieked and tried to slap the blonde. The key word is try, in this case though. Oz saw the attack coming and prevented it before it happened.

He grabbed Alice by the front of her shirt and harshly pulled her to him. He dropped his cheerful façade and glared icily at the girl, saying, "You think I don't know all of that? How do you think I felt knowing I had left him behind to fend for himself in a world that wants nothing more than to destroy him? Don't you _dare_ try to judge me for actions I had no control over," he paused to take a breath and tighten his grip, pulling her even closer, "You say he was kept awake by nightmares? Well I was living one. For ten years I lived the longest nightmare anyone has ever known. So don't you put on such airs as to think that you know me. You know nothing."

With that, Oz shoved Alice away from him. The brunette stumbled backward, utterly astonished at the outburst. Ciel had always talked about Oz in a way that made her believe he was a milk-toasty kind of guy. She wasn't expecting him to lash out at her like that. She could hear Ciel in the behind her, shouting at Oz to be nice, but the blonde was done playing nice. He leveled a silencing gaze at Ciel and, once the boy had fallen quiet, Oz strode past Alice, Ciel, and Sebastian and went upstairs to his room.

For a few seconds after his brother left, Ciel didn't move or speak. It took him a while to process what had just happened, but once his brain had stopped malfunctioning, he cleared his throat and said in a low voice to his friends, "Excuse me for a minute."

He then turned and hesitantly made his way to Oz's room. At the blonde's door, he halted, slightly nervous about trying to go see him. Ciel had never, ever, seen Oz mad before and he'd certainly never been given such a harsh glare. It frightened him, in a way, because it reminded him of when he was in captivity. He shook off the feeling and steeled himself for an argument. He figured Oz would be upset with him for not stopping Alice. Ciel smiled sadly to himself at the thought. He hadn't really wanted to stop Alice, in all honesty. He agreed with what she had said and couldn't bring himself to contradict her.

Ciel sighed quietly and raised his right hand to knock on the door. He tapped on it twice before Oz's muffled voice called out from inside, "Come in."

At the command, Ciel softly swung open the door. The room was pitch black. Oz had shuttered the windows and pulled the curtains tightly closed. The darkness helped him think and calmed him down, but all it did for Ciel was make him blind as a bat.

The blue-haired boy blinked rapidly and waited for his eyes to adjust while he said, "You in there, Oz?"

"Of course I am. I answered you before didn't I?" Came the short reply.

Again, Ciel added another tick mark to his seemingly ever growing list of 'things he has never seen or heard Oz do before.' He mumbled a few curse words under his breath and tried to flick on the lights. He had toggled the switch a few more times when Oz suddenly appeared in front of him, arms crossed.

Ciel started in surprise and at his brother's current appearance. He had removed his ascot, broach, and coat and had undone the first few buttons of his shirt. He was also barefoot and sock-less. He raised an eyebrow at Ciel and looked at him expectantly. His expression wasn't mad, per say, but he certainly didn't look happy either.

Ciel cleared his throat and began to apologize for Alice's behavior, "Oz, look, I'm really so-"

"If you are going to apologize for that girl, don't," Oz tilted his head to one side and continued to keep his level appearance trained on his little brother, "You have nothing to apologize for and even if you did I would never make you. You are my little brother, I don't ever want you to have to apologize to me." Ciel felt his face grow warm with happiness, but he stayed silent, trying not to betray how overjoyed those simple words made him feel.

Oz could see it in his face though. He smiled a little and leaned down to bump heads with the boy, "I should be the one apologizing to you. Everything Alice said was right. I only lashed out because I didn't want to hear it from her. It was wrong of me to do so," he let himself look a little sadder and pouted just the perfect amount, "Do you forgive me?"

It didn't even cross Ciel's mind that Oz might have simply been manipulating him so that he wouldn't have to explain himself. All he could think about was how sorry he was for doubting his brother. He smiled up at Oz, "Of course, Nii-san. Will you come back downstairs now?"

Oz straightened back up, sensing that his mission had been accomplished, and gave a fake grin as he replied with, "Sorry, kiddo. I think I've had enough of people for the day. I'll come down when they leave." He watched as Ciel's face fell slightly and figured he had better add something more, just in case, "I'm not mad, Ciel. I promise. Just a little tired and I don't want to say something I don't mean out of that, okay?" He rubbed the blue locks affectionately and waited to see how Ciel would respond.

Ciel smiled a little more and playfully stuck his tongue out at his brother, "I didn't think you were so antisocial, Nii-san," they both laughed before Ciel went on, "I'm glad you aren't upset and I'll take care of the situation downstairs." He turned and was about to walk away when he stopped and said one more thing, "Oh, and try to get some rest, Nii-san. You were up late yesterday and woke up early today. I don't know what kind of time schedules are kept in the Abyss, but humans need rest. That's a fact of life. Get some sleep and I'll either see you at dinner or tomorrow morning."

Oz grinned at him from the doorway and trilled, "Yes, sir!" Ciel giggled childishly (something he hadn't done in years actually) and happily went back to his friends.

After watching Ciel practically skip down the stairs, Oz dropped his mask and slowly closed the door. He walked back to the table he had been sitting at and reclaimed his seat. He leaned back in it and picked up the sheet of stationery lying face down on smooth surface in front of him. He flicked it straight and glanced over its contents again, the darkness of the room hardly hindering him.

 _Oz Phantomhive,_

 _I'm terribly sorry for thrusting you into this terrible world. I need you there. Please, just stay there for a bit longer. You will understand what you have to do when the situation comes up._

 _I miss you, Oz. Stay safe and I'll see you again soon. Wait for me, I will come for you._

 _Love,_

 _~A~_

Oz let his hand fall and rubbed his lips with a knuckle. He missed the sender of the letter too, but he was a little frustrated by their vagueness. They hadn't told him that they were going to send him back. He would have prepared a little more if they had.

"Oh, well," he murmured out loud, "I suppose she knows what she's doing. I just wish she had told me." He rested his head on the back of his chair, closing his eyes as he did so, and smiled at the ceiling, "I can't wait to introduce her to Ciel," Oz chuckled to himself and leapt out of his seat, spinning in circles a few times before falling face first onto the bed. He sighed heavily and whispered into his sheets, "I miss you, Abi, come back soon."

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* **Lemme know in a review if you know which classic book that line is from.**

 **All right, so I know this chapter was probably a tad confusing for those who have no clue as to what snooker is. Don't worry, I didn't know anything about it until I wrote this chapter either. If you want to know more about snooker check out the Wikipedia page or watch Ronnie O'Sullivan (considered to be the greatest, or one of the greatest, pro snooker player(s) in the world) at the World Snooker Championships on YouTube.**

 **Also, if you guys can guess who the person Oz misses is, leave a review. I'm attempting to add more plot to this story, but in all honesty...I have nooooooo clue as to what I'm doing. I'll do my best to make this interesting though! :D**

 **Thanks to all the reviewers, favoriters, and followers! Love you all,**

 **VGirl~**


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